NHTSA Submit New TPMS Rule

The NHTSA has sent a new Tyre Pressure Monitoring rule to the US Office of Management and Budget, 11 months after the agency’s original rule was rejected by the US Appeal Court.

The Office of Management and Budget received the new regulation on 1 July and has until 29 September to review it, after which they will either approve it or ask the NHTSA to modify it. The new rule could also be rejected completely, forcing the NHTSA to go back to the drawing board.

The NHTSA’s previous rule was issued in 2002 and required that monitors warned drivers when tyre pressure levels fell 25 to 30 per cent lower than the manufacturer’s recommendation. The rule also suggested that TPMS should be introduced into new vehicles from 2004. Most significantly, the original rule only allowed for direct monitoring systems.

The reason the appeals court overturned the regulation was because the NHTSA “inappropriately permitted certain types of tire pressure monitoring systems to be installed on new vehicles,” Rubber Manufacturers Association officials said at the time.